The Necklace

byMelisa WellsonAugust 11, 2013

I’m not really a “jewelry person”. Don’t get me wrong; I wish I were. I am in awe of my friends who wear different jewelry accessories with every outfit, who make use of lovely necklaces and beautiful bracelets and all kinds of earrings, seemingly endless choices. Unfortunately the awe is where it stops for me. I’m apparently more of an appreciative observer than a joiner in this situation. I’m lazy.

I’ve tried to be like them. I have a small collection of pieces I could interchange (and my loving husband has given me a few gorgeous pieces through the years), but the reality for me is that I just…don’t.

Ninety-five percent of the time I’m wearing the small diamond earrings Jim bought for me when his Navy ship visited Haifa, Israel in 1989. They have screw backs so I don’t ever have to worry about losing them. I wear a different pair of earrings (and sometimes a bracelet or two) on special occasions.

Though I have some pretty cool necklaces that I use to accessorize certain outfits once in a blue moon, I can almost always be found wearing this one special piece. In fact, a friend recently asked me to tell her about my necklace because she noticed that I wear it all the time and was interested in the story.

This necklace that I wear just about every day has multiple charms dangling from it, and the sound of them jingling as I move has a soothing effect. It may seem odd, but the sound serves as a reminder that I should count my blessings: each piece of my necklace symbolizes something or someone very important to me.

Last year, after our first Chicago LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER show, our cast presented Tracey and me with necklaces that included three charms: a stamped metal LTYM charm, a “Chicago 2012” charm, and a mini megaphone. This was the perfect gift to give upon the culmination of our inaugural show, and I (obviously) treasure it so much. The “Chicago 2012” charm not only keeps the entire cast close to my heart, but these days also has added meaning: Katy (one of our original cast members) is experiencing a reoccurrence of Triple Negative Breast Cancer and sometimes I hold that charm in between my fingers as I send good thoughts her way.

The next piece of my necklace puzzle has a lot to do with LTYM, too; Tracey gave it to me after this year’s show. It says “A circle is round and has no end; that’s how long I want to be your friend.”

All together now: AWWWW!

The final charm on my necklace was actually the first one there. Momo gave it to me on the day I helped bring Momo’s Meat Wagon to Columbus in 2009. If you don’t know about Momo’s Meat Wagon, you should probably read about it, not because I’m trying to bring attention to myself and how I was a part of one of those “the internet is amazing” good deeds, but because the Meat Wagon was the official, in-person start of my and Momo’s friendship, and I can’t think of any other friendship-starting story that is better than ours. (Also, big hat tip to Momo’s awesome daughter for making the “oopsie” that inadvertently set off the chain of events and thus, one of the best friendships I have ever had. So, WOW, it was all worth it, Ali.)

Is my necklace complete? I can’t be sure; only time will tell. I may have room for another jingle or two…

So, thanks for asking, Jenn. I’m glad to have written this post, because my eyesight is going fast these days: it’s only a matter of time before I won’t be able to read these little charms without an actual magnifying glass.

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Awwwww! Me too! Love you guys! Maybe someday I will make it to a Blogher, that would be a dream come true. But then again, I guess I have to find it in me again to start posting/ painting first! Oh, and Melisa, I DO use a magnifying glass from time to time! XO